“Traditional Marriage” Debunked at a Bar Mitzvah

One of the bitter ironies of the marriage equality battle is the opposition’s appeal to “traditional” marriage—especially as traced from the Bible—in their attacks. Same-sex unions aren’t traditional, so the reasoning goes, and therefore gay couples should not be allowed to approach the altar. The joke, of course, is that the meaning of marriage has changed so much over the centuries that any notion of “tradition” is ludicrous … but I’ll stop there. In this video that’s making the rounds, Duncan McAlpine Sennett, a 13-year-old bar mitzvah from Congregation Beth Israel in Oregon, uses his Torah reflection to explore marriage’s evolution and the need for equality as clearly as I’ve ever heard.